Arno J. Mayer's Books

Plowshares into Swords

From Zionism to Israel

By: Arno J. Mayer

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A critical history of Israel and the Arab–Israeli conflict Eminent historian Arno J. Mayer traces the thinkers, leaders, and shifting geopolitical contexts that shaped the founding and development of the Israeli state. He recovers for posterity internal critics such as the philosopher Martin Buber, who argued for peaceful coexistence with the Palestinian Arabs. “A sense of limits is the better part of valour,” Mayer insists. Plowshares into Swords explores Israel’s indefinite deferral of the “Arab Question,” the strategic thinking behind the building of settlements and border walls, and the endurance of Palestinian resistance.

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597

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Verso Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1789604087

ISBN 13

9781789604085

The Furies

Violence and Terror in the French and Russian Revolutions

By: Arno J. Mayer

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The Furies

Violence and Terror in the French and Russian Revolutions

By: Arno J. Mayer

The great romance and fear of bloody revolution--strange blend of idealism and terror--have been superseded by blind faith in the bloodless expansion of human rights and global capitalism. Flying in the face of history, violence is dismissed as rare, immoral, and counterproductive. Arguing against this pervasive wishful thinking, the distinguished historian Arno J. Mayer revisits the two most tumultuous and influential revolutions of modern times: the French Revolution of 1789 and the Russian Revolution of 1917. Although these two upheavals arose in different environments, they followed similar courses. The thought and language of Enlightenment France were the glories of western civilization; those of tsarist Russia's intelligentsia were on its margins. Both revolutions began as revolts vowed to fight unreason, injustice, and inequality; both swept away old regimes and defied established religions in societies that were 85% peasant and illiterate; both entailed the terrifying return of repressed vengeance. Contrary to prevalent belief, Mayer argues, ideologies and personalities did not control events. Rather, the tide of violence overwhelmed the political actors who assumed power and were rudderless. Even the best plans could not stem the chaos that at once benefited and swallowed them. Mayer argues that we have ignored an essential part of all revolutions: the resistances to revolution, both domestic and foreign, which help fuel the spiral of terror. In his sweeping yet close comparison of the world's two transnational revolutions, Mayer follows their unfolding--from the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Bolshevik Declaration of the Rights of the Toiling and Exploited Masses; the escalation of the initial violence into the reign of terror of 1793-95 and of 1918-21; the dismemberment of the hegemonic churches and religion of both societies; the "externalization" of the terror through the Napoleonic wars; and its "internalization" in Soviet Russia in the form of Stalin's "Terror in One Country." Making critical use of theory, old and new, Mayer breaks through unexamined assumptions and prevailing debates about the attributes of these particular revolutions to raise broader and more disturbing questions about the nature of revolutionary violence attending new foundations.

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735

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Princeton University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1400823439

ISBN 13

9781400823437

The Furies

Violence and Terror in the French and Russian Revolutions

By: Arno J. Mayer

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The Furies

Violence and Terror in the French and Russian Revolutions

By: Arno J. Mayer

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735

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Princeton University Press

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ISBN 10

1400823439

ISBN 13

9781400823437

Plowshares into Swords

From Zionism to Israel

By: Arno J. Mayer

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Plowshares into Swords

From Zionism to Israel

By: Arno J. Mayer

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597

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Verso Books

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ISBN 10

1789604087

ISBN 13

9781789604085

Why Did the Heavens Not Darken?

The Final Solution in History

By: Arno J. Mayer

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Why Did the Heavens Not Darken?

The Final Solution in History

By: Arno J. Mayer

Was the extermination of the Jews part of the Nazi plan from the very start? Arno Mayer offers astartling and compelling answer to this question, which is much debated among historians today.In doing so, he provides one of the most thorough and convincing explanations of how the genocidecame about in Why Did the Heavens Not Darken?, which provoked widespread interest and controversywhen first published. Mayer demonstrates that, while the Nazis’ anti-Semitism was always virulent, it did not becomegenocidal until well into the Second World War, when the failure of their massive, all-or-nothingcampaign against Russia triggered the Final Solution. He details the steps leading up to thisenormity, showing how the institutional and ideological frameworks that made it possible evolved,and how both related to the debacle in the Eastern theater. In this way, the Judeocide is placedwithin the larger context of European history, showing how similar ‘holy causes’ in the past havetriggered analogous – if far less cataclysmic – infamies.

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Page Count

545

Publisher

Verso Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

184467777X

ISBN 13

9781844677771

Book's by Arno J. Mayer

Plowshares into Swords

Plowshares into Swords

The Furies

The Furies

The Furies

The Furies

Plowshares into Swords

Plowshares into Swords

Why Did the Heavens Not Darken?

Why Did the Heavens Not Darken?

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